It is very important to get contamination-free fluids, e.g. from Potable Water, fruit juice to edible oil. Similarly, clean fluids are essential for many industrial applications. System Effectiveness or Productivity is a key result area for Industry. Equipment uptime is directly proportional to fluid cleanliness. Cleanest oil equals 100 percent Up-Time.

VATS Filtration Technologies, under the leadership of Gauri Vatturkar, is providing techno-economic filtration solutions to the industry for life science and industrial application. VATS, an ISO 9001-2015 certified company has a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility making filters in-house, which gives them an edge over the competition. Being in this industry for more than two decades now, VATS has contributed to saving more than 30 lakh liters of oil with the effective implementation of various filtration solutions.

Gauri Vatturkar, a cost accountant, has completed her B.Com from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce, Pune, and her MBA in finance from HNIMR. She is skilled in Risk Management, Procurement, Strategic Planning, Business Development, and Business Strategy. With her hard work and dedication, she has brought various laurels to the company over the last 23 years. Gauri Vatturkar engages in an exclusive interaction with Women Entrepreneur Magazine.

Take us through your early educational journey and prior industry experience.

I am a Cost Accountant and have done MBA with specialization in Finance. Apart from accounting and finance, I have a wide experience in systems management. I have contributed in defining and effectively implementing various systems for VATS Filtration Technologies.

Tell us about the roles and responsibilities you shoulder including the challenges you face at your position and how you overcome those challenges.

Presently I handle all operations i.e., from Purchase, manufacturing, accounts, and finance, to HR and standard product sales along with my core team leaders in each area.

Talking about the challenges, the prime challenge that we face in our business is that, the industry needs something which is cheap rather than something that is effective and beneficial in the long run. In most of the cases it is a conflict between short-term versus long-term and a lot of effort is required to make the customer aware of our offerings and how these solutions are apt for their requirements. The second challenge that we face is getting and retaining the necessary manpower.

To overcome these challenges, presently we are investing time in creating a standardization of all the processes through effective implementation of ERP & CRM. Investing in marketing initiatives to create awareness in the market and for people management, we are implementing many initiatives to increase the involvement and participation of our team members by creating a culture of cohesiveness and teamwork.

What has been your most remarkable achievement so far and what is the driving force behind your success?

Creating a 100 percent Indian Solution in the field of filtration for cross-functional applications is one of the most remarkable achievements. As you know mineral oil has no shelf life, and still, we replace oil periodically, on top of it contaminated oil has an adverse impact on equipment performance. All these ill effects can be avoided or prolonged with Understanding Oil, Understanding Filtration, and Understanding application on the field and that is where VATS has the expertise to understand all of the above and offer the most effective solutions.

Supporting our customers to achieve their contribution toward a Green Environment, saving foreign exchange for the country, and leaving a clean environment to future generations is a remarkable achievement and the driving force behind our success.

How do you foresee the filtration industry evolving in the near future? What trends do you see developing in the space going forward?

The awareness about quality and efficiency is definitely increasing and this is a very good shift. There is a need for quality products at low cost, made indigenously and in the coming future, there is a lot of scope in this segment. Apart from this, effectively using social & E-media for connecting the dots is a trend that is developing at a very fast pace.

What would your advice be to young women and girls who also aspire to become business leaders and entrepreneurs in the future?

I would like to say that there is a huge potential available, especially with the unique skill sets that we as women have, we can make things happen. One needs to understand one's own Key capacity, liking, and passion and play full out. It is very important to dream and pursue the dream till it becomes a reality.

Gauri Vatturkar, Director, Vats Filtration Technologies

Gauri Vatturkar has completed her B.Com from Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce, Pune, and her MBA in finance from Smt. Hiraben Nanavati Institute of Management & Research for Women. She is also a Cost Accountant and an experienced Director with a demonstrated history of working in the filtration industry. She is skilled in Risk Management, Procurement, Strategic Planning, Business Development, and Business Strategy.